Palestine Ambassador to Morocco: 'We appreciate Morocco's support to the Palestinian cause'

By Karima Rhanem | Morocco TIMES 4/14/2006 | 3:30 pm

“We highly appreciate Morocco's support to the Palestinian cause. We also recognize the role King Mohammed VI can play in these "difficult circumstances" that the Palestinian people are undergoing,” the Palestinian Ambassador to Morocco, Hassan Abdurrahman told Morocco Times.


The Palestinian Ambassador hailed the visit of the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, to Morocco, qualifying it as successful, productive and highly positive.

Abdurrahman also praised the King's gesture in offering the new site of the Palestinian embassy in Rabat.

“The King's noble gesture is extremely important and shows Morocco's support (King, government, and people) to the Palestinians' struggle for the setting up of an independent Palestinian State,” said the ambassador.

The President of the Palestinian Authority, who arrived Wednesday in Morocco on an official visit, inaugurated on Thursday the new headquarters of the Palestinian embassy in Rabat.

Abbas said that “the new headquarters constitutes a strong hint for the creation of the Independent Palestinian State, which will certainly see the light of day with Morocco's precious support.”

“In Morocco, we feel like in Palestine, and we see the Palestinian cause is in the hearts of all Moroccans,” added Abbas.

The president of the Palestinian authority expressed his sincere thanks to HM King Mohammed VI, president of al-Quds Committee, for having offered the headquarters to the Palestinian Authority.

Earlier, Abou Mazen told the Moroccan TV channel, TVM, that Palestinians "rely on the importance of links binding Morocco to its Jewish citizens around the world" to achieve rapprochement between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples.

The Palestinian ambassador to Morocco also stressed that “Morocco, unlike any other country, has good contact with the Jewish community around the world, good relations with the west, particularly the USA.”

Referring to the leader of the Israeli Labour Party, Amir Peretz, the Palestinian diplomat said there are several Jewish leaders whose origins are from Morocco who can help build bridges between the Palestinians and the Israelis.”

The Israeli Labour Party leader, whose origin is from Morocco, was received on Feb. 17 by HM King Mohammed VI.

In a statement to the Moroccan Channel, the Palestinian president condemned Israel's rigid stance against Hamas, which democratically emerged victorious in last January's Palestinian elections.

Abbas called on the Israeli government to give up unilateral solutions that "only fuel the conflict," underlining the need for negotiations and for examining all options on the basis of the road map.

Abou Mazen, who held private talks on Wednesday with the Moroccan Sovereign, said “the decisive phase of the Palestinian question requires hearing the views of our brothers, particularly King Mohammed VI's”.

The Palestinian president received on Thursday, Moroccan Premier Driss Jettou to consider means to reinforce bilateral cooperation.

Discussions focused on the situation in the Palestinian territories, the atrocities that the Palestinian people undergo on a daily basis, and Morocco's unwavering support to Palestine.

Abou Mazin also received Speakers of the upper and lower houses of the Moroccan parliament, Mustapha Oukacha and Abdelwahed Radi, respectively.

The meetings, which were attended by member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization executive committee Yasser Abderabbou, and Palestinian ambassador in Rabat Hassan Abdurrahman, centered mainly on the political and financial situation and daily life in Palestine.

In the same vein, HM King Mohammed VI, president of Al-Quds Committee, has nominated Abdelkbir Alaoui M'Daghri as the director General (DG) of 'Bayt Mal Al-Quds' (Al-Quds' treasury) to succeed Abou Marouane, who was also Palestine's ambassador to Morocco.

This nomination comes as a response to the Palestinian Authority's wish to see a Moroccan at the head of this institution, created in 1997 at the initiative of the late Hassan II. Bayt Mal Al-Quds' will support the Palestinian people economically, socially and culturally.

Mahmoud Abbas also received leaders of the Moroccan political parties to discuss the situation of the Palestinians territories. The suspension of the European and American aids to the Palestinian Authority was particularly deplored by all party leaders.